Manufacture of organ-reeds



(No Model.)

- L. A. WOOD.

MANUFACTURE 01-" ORGAN Rams.

No. 347,546. Patented Aug. 17, 1886.

WlTNE55E5 INVENTEIK I UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUCIUS A. WOOD, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ON E'HALF TOALICE P. CARPENTER, OF BRATTLEBOROUGH, VERMONT.

MANUFACTURE OF ORGAN-REEDS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 347,546, dated August17, 1886.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Lucius A. W001), acitizen of the United States,residing at Worcester, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in theManufacture of Organ- Reeds; and I declare the following to be adescription of my said invention sufficiently full, clear, and exact toenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification.

The object of my present invention is to save stock, reduce the cost ofproduction, and produce a superior-toned reed; and the nature of myinvention consists in the peculiar method of forming the plate andrivets, as more fully hereinafter explained. 1

In the drawings, Figure l is a bottom view of an organ-reed constructedin accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of thesame. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the blank plate, illustratingthe manner of forming the tongueconnecting rivets. Fig. 4 is a viewillustrating the manner of milling out the chamber in the plate. Figs.5, 6, 7, and 8 are cross-sections illustrating the method of rivetingthe tongue-connecting studs. Figs. 3 to 8, inclusive, are drawn to anenlarged scale.

In themanufacture of the reeds in accordance with my invention theblanks for'the plates A are out to the proper size and shape from metalof a thickness corresponding to the required thickness of the reed, andsmall portions of the metal, a, are, by suitable punches, forced out inthe direction indicated in Fig. 3, to subsequently serve as rivet-studsfor attaching the tongue B to the block or plate A. The studs orportions a are punched partially, but not completely, through the plate,their ends being left adhering to the plate A, but at a position wherethey will escape the millingcutters, or, in the case of the smaller orhighertoned reeds, at such position that the milling operation. will cutthe studs to the proper length required therefor. After forcing out thestuds a the bottom of the plate A is recessed or worked out to a depthsubstantially as indicated by dotted lines C, Fig. 3, and

preferably on a plane or planes parallel with the top surface of theblank, so as to form the pcculiarshaped chamber C, extending from thetoe nearly to the heel of the reed past the rivet-studs a, and havingfront and rear ends that are semicircular horizontally, as shown at band d. The chamber or recess 0 can be produced by means of a suitablesquare-edged tool rotated as indicated at I, Fig. 4, the end of the toolbeing set on the top of the blank at I), sunk to the depth required, andthe blank then fed longitudinally along until the chamber is formed, orin any other suitable manner. The thickness of metal at the tongue seat,or above the studs a, may be left the same, or may be made slightlygreater than it is along the forward portion of the plate, as indicatedin Figs. 2 and 3, or so as to proportion it to the vibratory power ofthe tongues in different reeds. The air-slot F is punched through orformed with its forward end occupying the position indicated at f, whichis much nearer the toe of the plate than is practical with the ordinarymethod of chambering, and with its rear end at e the usual distance fromthe heel end of the plate. The tongue, which is made in ordinarystraight form, is perforated with holes located to match the studs a,and is placed over said studs on the back of the plate A, as in Fig. 6.The studs a are then forced back through the plate A for a slightdistance, so that their inner ends extend into the chamber 0 or projectbeyond the milled surface, as shown in Fig. 7. At thesame time theadjacent surfaces of the tongue and plate are brought firmly together.The top and bottom ends of the stud or studs a are then riveted down, soas to form overlapping heads, or clinched at both ends thereof, one uponthe metal of the tongue 13 and the other on the under side or milledsurface of the plate A, as shown in Fig. 8, thereby securing the partstogether in a most rigid and perfect manner. In this method of millingout the chambers C and extending said chamber toward the heel beneaththe seat of the tongue and beyond the riveting-studsa in the mannerdescribed, I am enabled to proportion the thickness of metal in theplate at the tongueseat, so that the plate can yield to the vibrationsof the tongue in a very slight degree, thus distributing or less abruptlbreaking up the vibratory action at that point, and consequently givinga smoother and more desirable tone action to the reed. The proportionalthickness of the plate A at the tongue-seat may be varied in proportionto the size and power of the vibratory tongues in the different sizes ofreeds.

By the method of manufacture herein shown and described I attain theadvantages of the chamber extending beneath the heel of the tongue andterminating with a circular end. and this, with the firm uniting of theplate and tongue, gives a healthy vibration and obviates theliabilityofthe singing jar or harshness in the tone of the reed, while theforward circular end of the chamber, formed as shown, permits of theair-slot being brought nearer to the toe end of the reed than with theordinary method of manufacture, so that the plates can be made shorterto a considerable extent (substantially that indicated by dotted line t,Fig. 1) than those of ordinary form. Thus I attain a considerable savingin amount of metal used, while producing a superior-toned reed.

I am aware that it is a common practice to secure reedtongues by meansof portions of metal raised from the block or plate, and I do nottherefore make claim to such feature, except in the peculiar method ofconstruction herein illustrated and described-win, the

raising of the studs before milling, and then forcing them back to theirfinal position.

\Vhat I claim as of my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

1. In the manufacture of organ-reeds, the within-described method ofconstructionviz. forcing up portions of metal from the originalthickness of the blank to form the studs a, then milling out the chamber0 past the ends of said stud in the manner set forth, and subsequentlyforcing backward said studs sufficiently to give an overlapping head orclinch at both ends thereof, and riveting the same down upon the top ofthe tongue and the under milled surface of the plate, as set forth.

2. The improvement in the manufacture of organ-reeds, which consists incutting away the under side of a solid reed-plate within its toe end ina horizontally circular form, as at b, and thence extending the chamber0 backward past the tongue-seat to terminate in a horizontallysemicircular end, as at d, in rear of the riveting-stud a, substantiallyas set forth.

\Vitness my hand this 29th day of October,

LUOIUS A. XVOOD. \Vitnesses:

CHAS. H. BURLEIGH, S. R. BARTON.

